Snow dampened leather, smoke, and apples
by catnipeverthornes
Summary: My first Galeniss fanfiction in which Katniss goes to District 2 and is reunited with an old friend. Rated T for the possibilities that I'm not yet quite sure of.
1. Home is a person, not a place

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, I don't own the characters, I don't own the setting, I don't own anything really other than my ideas and imagination. **

**Author's Note: Okay so this is my first Galeniss fanfic set after the events of Mockingjay and I'm pro-Galeniss, and Gale is my favourite character, hence the constant mention of him and his relationship with Katniss. And I don't know if this is going to be a thing and if I'm going to keep writing this, because I suddenly felt like wanting to write, but if this gets enough interest, I guess I'll keep writing. Not the world's best writer so go easy on me and reviews are always welcome and stuff c: Future chapters will most likely be longer. **

_"RUN, PRIM." I manage to choke out before the bombs hit the ground. I'm too late. I make my way through the masses of bodies on the ground, not paying attention to the flames surrounding me that threaten to engulf me. I note the irony. I go to where I last saw Prim last and see her lying sprawled on the ground, her uniform untucked at the back. Swallowing the sobs that are about to escape me, I turn over her body. _

_ I scream as I see Gale's face staring up at me, eyes lifeless. I shake him, begging him to wake up. "Gale, oh Gale, I'm so sorry." By now, tears are streaming down my face. I hug him and will the flames to come closer, to swallow me whole. _

Katniss. _I jerk my head up when I hear my name. _Katnissssss. _Frantically, I look around, searching for any mutts who are programmed to kill me. One more time I hear my name being whispered, this time from below me. I look uncertainly at Gale, hoping that it was him who has been whispering my name this whole time, praying that it was him. His eyes fly open and he stares at me, eyes full of hatred. He smiles and bares his fangs. I jump backwards screaming, and back away. Gale gets up and faces me on all fours, ready to pounce. I glance to the both sides, not wanting to keep my eyes off Gale for too long. From the corner of my eye I see other bodies raising and assuming the same pose Gale is holding. I'm surrounded. _

_ I now see Prim, her hungry eyes focused on me. Peeta. Rue. The avox girl. Closing in on me. Slowly, leaving with me no place to go. Suddenly they attack._

I wake up thrashing and screaming only to be calmed by Peeta's whispers of assurance. _Peeta. _I jerk away at his touch, flashes of my nightmare coming back to me.

"It's okay, Katniss. I'm here. It was just a dream." He coaxes me until I'm back to normal and I make my way to his arms. We stay like that for thirty minutes..one hour...four hours? I'm not sure, but I'm not complaining. It's calming and I enjoy the silence. It's not the same comfortable silence I had with Gale, but it's calming nonetheless.

_ Gale. _I can't help but feel a pang of longing whenever I think of him. My best friend. My hunting partner. My better half. I try to shake the thoughts out of my head. I tell myself that it's no use thinking about him, how he's in District 2, not thinking about me. It's no use. No matter what I tell myself, I can't help missing the boy with the snares.

The sadness in my eyes must be blatant for Peeta nudges me cautiously and asks me what's wrong. I put on a smile and whisper "nothing" but before he can reply, I slip out of bed and put on my hunting gear. I retrieve my bow from the hall and make my way to the woods. I enter at my usual place but skirt away from my meeting place with Gale. I'm not ready to face the memories yet but the pain is still there. I stumble blindly through the woods until I reach the lake. There, I sit quietly on a rock and enjoy the view.

Eventually they come. The memories. Unforuantely they're not the pleasant ones. Slowly, the events of the previous year come back to me. Prim dying. Killing Coin. Snow dying. Going back to District 12 alone. Finding out that my mother wouldn't be coming back. Not leaving the kitchen for a long period of time. Waking up from a nightmare to find Peeta planting primroses outside. Finding Buttercup. Telling him of Prim's death. Coming back to life. Creating a book of all the people I know who I've lost. Growing back together with Peeta. Waking up from nightmares only to find his arms around me to comfort me. The same routine everyday.

It's only then when I realise how alone I am, how unfamiliar the woods seem to me now. It was never like that. Over the years I had become accustomed to the woods, to the animals, to the sounds it produced. Now I feel lost, not at home in a place that I was considered home.

_Home is a person, not a place. _

The line repeats itself in my mind.

_Home is a person, not a place. _Meeting Gale for the first time, when he snuck up behind me as I was admiring his snares. _Home is a person, not a place. _That one Sunday morning me and him were at our usual place before the reaping. _Home is a person, not a place. _Gale sending me off after the reaping. His unfinished sentence. _Home is a person, not a place. _Talking about running away with him. _Home is a person, not a place. _Kissing Gale. Fighting alongside Gale. Breaking the rules with Gale.

The memories I had tried so hard to forget come back to me and overwhelm me. I stand up, dizzy and weak. I make my way out of the woods quickly and escape back to District 12. I don't go back to Victor's Village right away. I walk around District 12 aimlessly until I'm sure that I'm okay. Everywhere I see rubbles of what once used to be my home but they're all gone now. President Snow made sure of that.

It's evening when I get back. Peeta surprises me with cheese buns. We're sitting around the table, devouring the buns, when the phone rings. I ignore it, not wanting to stop eating my cheese buns, so Peeta picks it up. I observe him as I eat.

"Hello?" His face lights up. Probably someone familiar.

"You...want us?" Smile fades. I sit upright, now interested.

"One second, I'll go get her." Uncertainty. He looks at me and beckons me over to the telephone.

"Hello?" I say. I hear Plutarch on the other end of the phone and I'm unsure how to react. He explains to me what he wants and I stand there, motionless and speechless for a while. It's only when Peeta takes the phone out of my head and assures Plutarch that we'll be ready when I come back to my senses.

I abandon my cheese buns and run to my room, closing the door behind me. Sinking to the ground, I think about Plutarch's request. I'm to be the Mockingjay again. In District 2. Where they want to film Peeta, I, and other people I asssume, as a reminder to the rest of the districts of the hardships we faced and how important it is for us to stick together as we build ourselves up from the ashes. In District 2. Where Gale is.


	2. Reunions

**Disclaimer note: Nothing has changed within the last couple of hours. I still don't own The Hunger Games. I still don't own any of the characters. I still don't own the setting. I still don't own anything related to The Hunger Games. And believe me, if I did, Mockingjay would've had a veeery different ending.**

**Author's note: Okay so I wrote this within a couple of hours and it was rushed and I wasn't really that concentrated. But I came up with the idea when I was in the shower so I had to get it down before I could forget it. And I dunno. It's not very good. But read it anyway and review, if you want, cause reviews make me happy c: Also, I'm bad at christening chapters so you'll just have to bear with the ridiculous names. **

It takes a lot convincing on Peeta's part to get me to agree to go to District 2. Every time I think about it, thoughts of Gale cloud my mind and I become confused. I'm scared to make a decision that I'll regret but eventually I cave.

Peeta's not the one to make me do something I don't want to but this time he felt that it'd be better for the sustainability of Panem if I agreed to do this. If I'm being honest to myself, I'm doing these because of the small prospect that I'll be able to see Gale, although I'll never admit that. Not out loud, anyway.

Lots of preparations have to be done before our trip to District 2. Phone calls have to be made, transportation has to be arranged, mentors have to be informed. Surprisingly, Haymitch decides to tag along.

I'm impatient and the wait is slowly getting to me. I spend my time pacing the house, eagerly awaiting the signal that means we're ready to go. It never comes. Two weeks have gone by since the phone call from Plutarch and we're not any closer to District 2 than we were before.

After a while, I stop pacing the house and start taking long walks in the woods. It calms me and lowers the anticipation. I don't venture out far in the woods though. I don't want the memories to scare me in to not going to District 2. I often sit at my meeting place with Gale and enjoy the scenery. There isn't much to see though. The Meadow isn't quite the same after the bombs and although people have been slowly coming back for half a year now, it still doesn't feel like home. _Nothing does since I saw last…_I refuse to finish my last thought. Not yet. Not when I'm still uncertain about everything that's happened.

When I get bored, I take my bow and go hunting, careful not to go too far. We have enough food especially as Greasy Sae still cooks for me but hunting calms me down a bit. Reminds me of what life was like before I was sent into the arena. Back when I still had a best friend and a sister. My eyes well up with tears but I blink them away before they can break me. I go to the nearest tree and climb it up in order to get away from the pain. It doesn't help and before I know it, tears start streaming down my face. I hug my knees to myself to try to dull the pain but when it doesn't work, I give up and silently cry, sitting in a tree high above everything else.

I must have fallen unconscious because when I open my eyes, it's nighttime. I hear a faint echo in the distance that I make out to be my name. _Katniss. Katnissssss. _I panic, thinking it's the mutts, but then I realise that it's Peeta. He must be worried. I didn't tell him where I was going.

I scramble down the tree and out of the woods and bump into Peeta, who is standing outside the fence. He grabs me by my shoulders and observes me to see if I'm okay.

"Peeta, I'm fine. I just dozed off." He can tell it's a lie. He sees it from my eyes and how puffy they are, but he doesn't say a thing. He opens his arms and I fall into them, inhaling in his scent, clutching on to him as if I'd lose him too. When we part, he gives me a reassuring smile and kisses my forehead.

"They want us, Katniss. We can go to District 2 now. Are you sure of this?" I nod, and he takes my hand and leads me to the train station. I trudge along behind him silently until we reach the train station, where we're greeted by Plutarch, Effie, and my old prep team. I gasp, not expecting to see all of them. They all greet me with warm embraces, and it's obvious that they're forgotten the troubles from last year. _I wonder what it's like living a carefree life, with nothing to care about other than fashion, _I think, in spite of myself.

We gather around in one of the coaches and try to maintain small talk. Plutarch fills us in on what's been happening lately. How all of the districts are more or less satisfied with Paylor. How they've created a system to locate those who still support Snow, even after everything. How, even after a year has passed, they're still trying to bring peace back among the districts. We find out that a small fight that broke out in District 7 is the real reason why we're here. One of the men started a rally, protesting against Paylor, claiming that her rule isn't going to be any different to that of Snow's. When I find out that he's being helped captive at the moment, I can't help but agree with him.

Peeta and I try to keep up with the conversation but after a while it becomes too much for us to handle. I automatically tune everyone else out but Peeta manages to nod and ask questions for the both of us. They open a third bottle of wine and it's my cue to leave the room. Peeta follows me.

"Katniss? That cousin of yours, ...Gale, was it? Don't you want to know how he's doing?" I stop in my tracks and turn around slowly. I raise an eyebrow questioningly at Plutarch who takes another sip of his wine.

"He's in District 2, you know. He works for the military. Good fellow, he is. He's often on the television. Are you two still in contact?" I don't answer his question. Instead, I leave the room abruptly and make my way to my room, wanting to get away from any form of company. Before I can go into my room, Peeta grabs my hand and stops me.

"He didn't kill her. Gale didn't kill Prim, Katniss. He wouldn't." I look in his eyes and find everything but dishonesty. I wonder if maybe Peeta is right but I stop my train of thought before it leads to anything more. I wish him a goodnight and he returns it with a warm smile.

I close the door behind me and make my way to the shower. After a nice, warm shower, I look into the mirror and stare at the face that stares back at me. It's hard to imagine that a couple of years ago I was a girl of sixteen whose main goal was to ensure that her family has enough to eat. The face that looks back at me is unfamiliar and I don't recognize it. Tears roll down my face for the second time today as I register what Peeta said to me.

Deep inside, I know it wasn't Gale who killed Prim, but try as I might, I can't stop thinking that it was his bombs that killed her. And even if they weren't, I still can't shake off the feeling that Gale was involved in her death. The thought that I can't look at my best friend anymore the same way, because of something I'm not sure he did, leaves me sobbing uncontrollably. I have to grip the sink for support and it takes me a while to regain my composure.

That night I find it hard to fall asleep. I toss and turn as sleep evades me. My thoughts keep wandering to Gale. Whether or not he played a part in Prim's death. How he is. How he's doing. If he's found someone new. _Of course he's found someone new, Katniss. What did you think? _For some reason I don't like thinking about Gale with some other girl. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep again.

Without success. My mind is filled with thoughts of Gale. If he misses me. If he still thinks about me. Eventually I nod off to sleep but it's not long until someone knocks on my door, informing me that we're in District 2.

I take a shower and try to wash signs of my sleepless night off my face. Gathering my few belongings, I leave my room and run in to Peeta, who is waiting outside my door. We nod at each other.

"Are you ready?" He asks me as the train comes to a halt. I nod, uncertain, and he takes my hand and leads me off the train.

The sight is overwhelming. After spending most of last year locked away in District 12, I've become accustomed to the ash and dilapidated houses that we're left with. I'm not prepared for the amount of wealth that is before my eyes. I look around and the Nut is the first thing to catch my eye. I note that it's still being repaired after the bombing it faced less than a year ago.

We're guided down a long pathway until eventually we reach a block of apartment on the outskirts of town. Plutarch divides them among Peeta, Haymitch, and I, and then leaves us, telling us that he'll come back for us soon with further instruction, and that we're free to roam around until then. Haymitch opens a bottle of liquor, takes a swig, and enters his apartment. Peeta and I look at each other briefly, a smile forming on both our lips, before going in to ours.

After two hours of wandering around the apartment, playing with the numerous gadgets it had to offer, I decided to take a walk around the city to see what it's like. The last time I was here, I didn't have a chance to take in the little beauty District 2 had to offer. The war took care of that.

I shrug on my hunting clothes and take my bow along with me, in case I came across some woods. I don't know my way around District 2 so I pick a direction out at random and follow the path until I reach a dead-end. I pick another path out at random and follow it until I can go no longer. This carries on for one hour until I'm sure that I've seen most of the town.

The whole time I'm looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Gale. I know it's selfish of me but I can't help it. But then disappointment replaces the feelings of hope I have as I realize that I'll probably never find him because he's off on a mission, he's with another girl, he's helping rebuild the Nut…the possibilities are endless. With my head hung low, I turn around and try to find my way back my apartment.

Outside the door is a note written so carelessly, as if it were rushed. I open it slowly and the butterflies in my stomach flutter as I read it.

_Katniss,_

_I heard you arrived today. I hope your journey was a good one and I hope you enjoy your stay. I miss you, and I'm sorry. _

_Gale. _

I set the letter on my windowsill and am about to make food when a movement from below distracts me. I peer down and I'm able to make out a figure hidden behind shadows. My breath hitches as the figure emerges from out behind the shadows.

The boy standing below me can easily pass for twenty but he's wearing a facial expression that makes him look the fourteen year old boy I met in the woods not so long ago. He looks a bit taller than when we last met but he let his hair grow out so that it now falls just above his eye. A year of working in the military has added to the muscles that he had back then. He's smiling up at me but it's a smile of sorrow and regret. Before I can react, he slips back into the shadows and suddenly he's gone.

The boy with the snares is gone again.

**Author's note: Right, hi, it's me again c: Like I said, this chapter wasn't very good but it was all leading up to how they meet and stuff and I promise I'll work on my writing and on the plot and on everything I'M SORRY D: **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, I don't own the setting, I don't own the characters, I don't own anything apart from a laptop and an imagination.**

I'm out on the streets before I know it. It's late but I don't care and all I'm interested in is finding Gale. I shout out his name but to no avail. I'm about to head back when my ears, trained well after all those years of hunting, pick up the sounds of footsteps to my left. I head toward the direction of the sound and follow it until I'm at the outskirts of the District. To the left, I see trees, and to the right, mountains tower over me, but Gale is nowhere to be seen.

"Gale?" His name is barely a whisper as I don't trust my voice to stay steady. Something makes the trees to my left stir and suddenly out steps a figure. Gale.

We stay as we are for a few minutes, with him standing in the shadows of the trees, and me standing in the middle of the path. I had thought about this moment ever since I found out that Gale left to District 2 but I never planned how I'd react if I were to see him again. Mixed emotions race through me. Joy, nostalgia, curiosity, but also sadness and frustration. Why did it take him so long to contact me? And why now?

It's Gale who breaks the silence. He emerges from out under the shadows and approaches me cautiously. There's sadness in his eyes, almost as if he knows that things won't be the same. The war changed us all and left us broken, empty shells. We've long passed the time when we were just Gale and Katniss, friends and hunting partners. Now it's just Gale, and Katniss. The soldier, and the Mockingjay. Split up, not anymore a team.

I can't help but wonder what would've been, had Prim not been reaped. I don't doubt for a second that Gale and I would've ended up together. He was the only person I trusted fully, and the only person who knew the real me. I imagine us having children but what good would that have been? If not Prim, it would've been some other poor girl, and another girl the year after. If it wouldn't have been Prim, the war never would've started and we'd never have defeated the Capitol. The Games would still take place and our children would've had to live in the fear that they'd get reaped. Either way, Gale and I never could've been happy together. The Capitol made sure of that.

"Catnip." His voice breaks my illusion and I'm brought back to the painful reality.

"Gale.'

"It's great to see you again."

"Yeah."

We go back to staring at each other. I never thought I'd have a problem talking to Gale but for once, I'm stumped for words. I have so many questions for him but I don't know where to start. Can you even go back to being friends after all that's happened to us?

"I'm really sorry, Catnip," he says, as he takes a step closer to me. "About leaving, about never making sure you were doing well, about Prim, -"

At the mention of Prim, all the emotions I had kept bottled up inside of me these last months surfaced. Tears start streaming down my face and he tries to wipe them away but I flinch at his touch.

"You have to understand. I had to go, I couldn't.., I just couldn't, Katniss. It was too much, what with you...and him.., and ...everything. I'm so sorry, but I just..I couldn't, Catnip."

"You could've stayed, Gale! You could've stayed and I would've helped you through it. We're best friends, Gale. That's what we're meant to do. We go through these things together. I needed you, and you weren't there. Why did you choose now to contact me? Why now?"

"I had to apologise. I had to make sure things were okay with you, with us."

"There is no "us". You made sure of that when you left for here."

"Katniss…" I can see the hurt in his eyes but I don't care. "I'm so sorry."

He comes towards me with open arms once more and this time I left him. I let myself sink into his chest and I inhale that smell that I've missed all these months. He smells like he did when we first kissed and nostalgia overwhelms me. After a while we part and he chuckles, most likely at the sight of my tears stained face.

"I forgive you," I say softly. "Just know it was hard for me too."

He smiles sadly and I know that just like that, we're okay again.

Together we climb up a small mountain until we reach a place Gale tells me he goes to when he needs to be alone. We're at a small, grassy field which overlooks the whole District and allows me to get a better idea of the surroundings.

We lay on the grass, gazing up at the sky, talking about our lives for a while. I find out that District 2 is a peaceful and quiet district, and that his job is boring, yet easy. He tells me that he's still designing weapons but he's lost his interest in it ever since after the war. In return, I tell him about life in District 12.

"At first it was just me. Then Haymitch came. Then Peeta. Greasy Sae looked after me for a while and made sure that I kept on eating. The nightmares were the worst though. That's why Peeta moved in – to protect me from them. We look after each other – Peeta, Haymitch, and I."

"So are you and Peeta officially together then?" I glance sideways at him and suppress a smile.

"It's complicated."

"How so?"

"It's hard to explain. We live together but the romance we had? It was just for the games. I have feelings for him but they're different to the ones I know I could've had for you, if that makes sense. But we also make each other happy and we care for one another."

He doesn't respond to this but keeps quiet instead.

"Do you ever wonder if we would have ended up together? How long we'd make it?" he finally asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Gale…" I reply, warningly.

"Because I do, Katniss. We'd be good together, you and I. We always have been, and whenever I think about it, I can't help but get mad at the Capitol for not even allowing me to have this one shred of happiness. And then I remember that we've defeated them and that there's no one else I can blame anymore, no one else who I can take revenge on. And it pains me not knowing what could've been. I loved you, you know."

And I do know, but as I don't know how to reply, I take his hand and let the silence devour us.

It's a while before we head back into the District. We make our way back in silence, and it almost feels like three years ago, back when things were much simpler. We make idle chat but we're both too exhausted to keep the conversation going. I don't mind the silence though. It's comfortable and reassuring. I ask him if he goes hunting often here, to which he tells me no. I tell him that the woods feel differently now that he's gone, and it's quiet once again between us.

"If you need me, I'm in the building opposite." He tells me when we're outside my apartment building. "Tell Peeta I say hi. Goodnight." We hug goodbye and I'm about to enter the building when I hear him calling me again.

"Thanks for looking for me Katniss. I've really missed you." He says lightly before turning around and walking home. _I've missed you too, Gale. I really have._

**Author's note: I am aware that this took me a whole decade to write. I was stuck with the first paragraph for months though and yeah. And omg I am always aware of how out of character both of them are but I'm not a good writer okay. And I sorta have a plot in my head (I'm just missing the next couple of characters lololol) so I guess I'll try to update once a week, and if not that then at least once every two weeks or something. And Katniss seems to have mood swings here. But like I said, I'm just a terrible writer who has so much post-Mockingjay Galeniss feels and I need to make them happen before I drown in my tears ;_; Also, as you all can probably see, I've given up naming chapters.**

**ALSO I'M REALLY SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY SHORT. **


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